Tears from the Sky
by Red Blaze 16
Summary: You're supposed to believe everything your father told you. What happens when you realize that you've been living a lie? Part three in the Spirit's Curse series. Rated for emotional mental anguish and adult language. Please R&R.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own the Ronin Warriors, so don't sue me.**

Tears from the Sky

By Red Blaze 16

Chapter 1

Kneeling in front of the granite marker, Hoshi lays the roses on the grave. The sun had only risen a couple of hours ago and though he had left the apartment he shares with his father without saying a word about where he was going, his father would know where he was.

Staring at the name, Hoshi remembers little of the woman that lies beneath the ground. Kay Hashiba had died when Hoshi was only five years old. Hoshi remembers his father coming to him in the middle of the night to tell him his mother had died in a car accident. Today was the twelfth anniversary of that day. Twelve years ago, Hoshi's mother had passed from the world.

"Hi mom," says Hoshi, staring down at the marker. "It's been a while."

Placing a hand on the marker, Hoshi feels closer to the woman who had birthed him.

"The school year is starting soon. Dad and the others are talking about keeping us kids at home. Ryo even mentioned that Mia could teach us," says Hoshi, patting the marker before removing his hand. "There were some problems this summer. I don't know if dad ever spoke to you of his past, but he had been some kind of warrior back when he was around my age. He even saved the world."

For a moment, Hoshi says nothing. Glancing up at the sun, he realizes that it's time for him to get back home. His father had mentioned that he wanted to head out to the Mouri house early today. The debate about home schooling would be brought up again once they got there.

Rising to his feet, Hoshi lays his hand once more on his mother's grave. Leaning down, he kissing the top of the cold stone before straightening.

"I love you, mom," says Hoshi, stepping away from the grave. "I'll come back soon."

Walking away from the marker, Hoshi leaves the grave behind as he heads home.

……………

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is an on-going series. All the Ronins have children, so if you want to know who's who, see the first chapter (Character Listings) of Ronins Together Again, the story that started the whole series. **


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

By late afternoon, Hoshi and his father, Rowen, had arrived at the lakeside Mouri house. Dashing up the stairs, Hoshi enters the house before his father. Scanning the entryway, he finds that no one is waiting for him. But hearing noise from the living room, Hoshi walks into there to find Kaida and Kira.

"Hey," says Hoshi, gaining the attention of the two young women.

Both girls turn to him, one blonde and one dark haired.

"How's it going?" asks Kaida, smiling in greeting.

"Not bad," replies Hoshi, sparing a glance at the dark haired girl before glancing at the blonde.

"Did your visit go well?" asks Kira, knowing that Hoshi had been at his mother's grave that morning.

"Yeah," replies Hoshi, nodding his head. _Yeah? Geez, could I should more stupid?_

Nodding her head, Kira glances once more at her best friend.

"So, you're thinking of going for a last of year swim?" asks Kira to the other girl.

"Yeah," says Kaida, nodding her head. "We're not going to have much nice weather left."

"Do you want some company?" asks the blonde of her friend.

"Actually," replies the daughter of Ryo, blushing. "I already have some company joining me."

Watching the by-play between the two girls, Hoshi quickly realizes whom Kaida means by "company".

"You don't mean Sekhmet and Dais?" asks Hoshi, staring at Kaida.

"And if I do?" demands Kaida, eyes flashing.

"But…" starts Hoshi but trails off.

"But what?" asks Kaida, stepping toward the boy.

"I think what Hoshi means is after what happened a couple weeks ago," helps Kira.

Shaking her head, Kaida smiles once at Kira before turning her attention back to the young man.

"It wasn't their fault," says Kaida, firmly. "I won't blame them."

Nodding his head, Hoshi finds himself at a loss as to what to say. Memories flash through his mind, Hoshi finds himself remembering that day when he and the others had gathered in the living room to be told that the new enemy of the Ronin Warriors and Warlords had struck. Used by the Nether Spirits, Sekhmet, Dais, and Kaida had been forced into having sex in the woods. Shaking his head at the memory, Hoshi can only stare at the young woman.

_Who would want to spend time with a couple guys after they had raped you? Well, they didn't mean to rape her_, thinks Hoshi.

"Anyway," says Kaida, walking toward the door to the living room. "I'm late to get down to the lake. See you guys later."

Leaving the room, Kaida quickly heads for the door and out of the Mouri house. Finding himself alone with the woman he likes, Hoshi stares at the floor. Unable to think of what to say, he feels relieved when he hears the sound of voices.

"I think it would be better if we kept the kids here," says Ryo, walking into the living with the other Ronin Warriors following him.

Stopping when he sees that the living is in use, Ryo smiles at Kira and Hoshi.

"Let's ask them," says Cye, nodding his head toward two of the children in question.

"Ask us what?" asks Kira, glancing once at her father, Sage, before looking at Cye.

"Do you want to be home schooled here by Mia?" asks Cye.

"Well, I think we shouldn't allow them to force us into changing our habits," replies Kira, after a careful debate.

"Hoshi?" asks Sage, glancing toward Rowen's son.

"I agree with Kira," says Hoshi, nodding his head.

"See," says Cye, turning to look at Ryo.

"Well, I'm still not convinced," replies Ryo, shaking his head.

"Geez, man!" says Kento. "It's not like they'll be in some other country."

Listening to the men debate the fate of the teenager's schooling, Hoshi finds himself dwelling on other things. Finding that he doesn't want to remain in the living room, Hoshi turns and leaves the room. Heading for the stairs, Hoshi stops when he hears his name called. Turning around, he notices that Kira also followed him out of the room.

"Nami and Makoto mentioned going down to the lake later," says Kira, cocking her head. "Care to join us?"

"Sounds like fun," replies Hoshi, smiling.

"Ok," replies Kira, nodding her head. "We'll come get you in, like, a couple hours?"

"Sounds good to me," replies Hoshi, staring down at the blonde girl.

Done with what she had planned, Kira turns and walks away, leaving the young man on the stairs.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

In the Nether Realm, Badamon is keeping a close eye on the Mouri house. Readying himself for yet another attack, he has decided upon the intended victim.

"I will strike tonight," says Badamon gleefully. "By the time I am done, the son shall hate his father and I will have driven yet another nail into their coffins."

……………

Walking down the stairs, Hoshi finds that the others have been waiting for him. After stepping off the last step, Hoshi glances around at the others.

"So, we're all going?" Hoshi asks.

Kira nods her head. "Miki wanted to go since Nami was going. And who knows? Maybe Kaida will stay with us."

"She's not back yet?" asks Makoto, glancing at the blonde girl.

"Nope," replies Kira, shaking her head.

"Well," says Nami, placing a hand on the door and opening it. "Let's go swim."

The five teenagers walk out the door, but just as they are about to close it, Ryo grabs the door.

"Kids?" asks Ryo, glancing at the teenagers. "If you see Dais or Sekhmet, can you send them back to the house? Kayra just arrived and she wants to meet."

"Ok," replies Hoshi, nodding his head.

Smiling, Ryo shuts the door behind the teenagers. Walking down the steps from the porch, the teenagers quickly start to move toward the lake. Only minutes pass before they find themselves at the lake. And just as Kira assumed, Kaida is still at the lake, with her Warlord company.

"Hey, Kaida!" shouts Nami, rushing to the water's edge and into the lake.

"Hey, guys!" says Kaida, glancing between the Warlords and her friends.

Instead of joining Nami in the lake, the other teenagers gather around Kaida, Dais, and Sekhmet.

"Umm, Kaida?" asks Miki, hoping he's not about to say something he'll regret. "Where's your bathing suit?"

Sure enough, neither Warlords nor Kaida are wearing a bathing suit. In fact, though their hair is still wet, the threesome is dressed in normal clothing.

"Well," says Kaida, blushing. "We didn't use….ummm bathing suits."

"We felt no need for them," says Dais.

"Ryo said you're needed up at the house," says Makoto, coolly.

"Did he mention why?" asks Dais, getting to his feet.

"Why don't you run along and ask him," replies Makoto, sneering.

"Makoto!" says Kaida, getting to her feet as well. "You're being rude."

"Stay out of it, Kaida," says Makoto, without evening looking at the girl.

Ignoring the boy's behavior, the Warlords begin to walk back to the house. Once the Warlords are out of hearing, Kaida turns to Makoto. Marching over to him, she gets into his face while placing her hands upon her hips.

"What the fuck was that about?" demands Kaida, glaring at the brown haired boy.

"Maybe I should ask you the same thing," replies Makoto, coolly. "I would think you wouldn't want anything to do with them after what happened."

"Lady Kayra said it herself. All three of us were victims," states Kaida.

"Oh, they seemed real hurt by what happened that day," sneers Makoto.

Not knowing what to do, the other teenagers just stare at Makoto and Kaida.

"Ummm, guys?" says Miki, hoping to calm the other two down.

Hearing enough, Kaida steps away from the group. Storming away from the lake, Kaida yells at Makoto over her shoulder. "Stay the hell away from me, Makoto!"

Saying nothing, the boy just glares at the departing young woman. Once she is gone from sight, Makoto turns his attention back to his friends.

"I can't believe she would let them touch her!" says Makoto, angrily.

"Well, what I'm wondering is, does it bother you she's with them or that, now that she has them in her life, she's not interested in you?" asks Kira, raising a brow.

Stepping toward the blonde girl, Makoto raises a hand. Moving forward quickly, Hoshi grabs his friend by the wrist. Tightening his hand to get the other boy's attention, Hoshi glares at his best friend.

"Don't touch her," rumbles Hoshi. "Don't ever touch her."

Jerking his hand away, Makoto turns and leaves the group. Walking out of the water, Nami glances toward her departing brother before she joins the others.

"Did I miss something?" she asks.

…………………..

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE: My muse has kinda left me on this story, so don't expect any updates soon. I'm hoping that my muse has only taken a mini vacation, rather than an extended one. **_


	4. Chapter 4

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Yup, I'm back and so is this story. My muse had finally returned!**

………………………………

Chapter 4

Knowing that the Ronins and Warlords are to be involved in a long meeting, Rowen wasn't in any rush to get downstairs to where the meeting spot was. Pacing his room, the blue haired warrior knew exactly why he didn't want to go downstairs.

_It's getting harder to pretend_, he thinks while shaking his head.

Stropping by the door to his room, Rowen lays a hand on the knob just as a knock raps against the door to his bedroom. Thinking it one of the guys to tell him to get a move on, Rowen jerks open the door to find not a Ronin, but Lady Kayra.

"Kayra," he whispers.

"I can't stand it," she whispers back. "Being so near to you, but so far."

Shaking his head, Rowen takes a look down the long hall. Seeing no one in the hall but them, Rowen steps back into his room and Kayra follows.

"I need you," she says.

"We can't," he replies, shaking his head. "The kids…"

"Are down by the lake swimming," she says.

Closing his eyes, he turns away, only to feel a warm, lush body press up against his back.

"We have a meeting," he tries again, wanting and yet not wanting to be alone with this woman.

"They can wait," she says, kissing the back of his neck. "We need time to ourselves."

Nodding his head, Rowen shuts the door and leads Kayra to his bed.

……………..

Having fought with one of his closest friends, Hoshi found that he wasn't in the mood any more for a swim. Striding up to the house, Hoshi enters the building. Hearing noises from the living room, Hoshi peeks his head around the corner to find almost everyone in the room. Noticing that his father is not there, Hoshi feels a need to speak with the man who raised him.

_Knowing Dad, he's upstairs in his room._

Taking the stairs two at a time, Hoshi gets to the second floor in no time at all. Striding down the hall, Hoshi knows that a talk with his dad is just what the doctor ordered. Finally reaching the door to his father's room, Hoshi places the barest knock on the door before swinging the door wide open.

"Dad…" starts Hoshi, but stops as he sees the scene before him.

Mouth wide open, Hoshi can say nothing. In the room before him, a half-undressed Rowen is leaning over an equally half naked Kayra. Shock fills the room, but the youngest person in there is the first to recover.

"How could you?" demands the son. "You promised!"

"Hoshi, this isn't what you think," starts Rowen, slipping off the bed and taking a step toward his son.

"I know exactly what this is," says Hoshi, his voice growing louder.

"Son…"

"No!" shouts Hoshi. "She" pointing a finger at Kayra "is in your bed. What about your promise?"

"I'm not breaking that promise," says the blue haired warrior to his son.

"Bullshit!" shouts Hoshi, glaring at his father and the woman beyond. "You were going to fuck her!"

"Hoshi!" reprimands Rowen. "Watch your mouth."

"You promised! No women after Mom died."

"You don't understand," begins Rowen, glancing out of the corner of his eye and watching Kayra slipping off the bed.

"Hoshi," says Kayra calmly, "please let your father explain."

"You stay out of this!" demands the boy.

"Do not take that tone of voice with her," states Rowen firmly.

"What fucking tone would you like me to take with her?" demands the boy, becoming more enraged by the moment.

"Do not speak to your father like that," she says, stepping up beside Rowen.

"You're not my mother, so don't think you can correct anything I do," replies the boy.

What little color Kayra had in her face drains in that moment from those words. A single tear escapes from her right eye, as she rushes from the room.

"How could you say that to her?" demands Rowen, angry with his son for those words.

"It's the truth," replies the boy.

"No, dammit, it isn't," shouts Rowen at his son. "Because Kayra is your mother!"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Did you hear me?" demands Rowen, furious with his son. "Kayra is your mother."

Shocked, Hoshi can say nothing to his father.

"When you were five…" starts the older man, but he watches as Hoshi shakes his head.

"You lied me," says the boy.

"Let me explain," gentles the man, realizing what a shock this must be to the younger man.

"No," says the boy with such finality. "I don't want to hear anything you have to say."

Turning, the boy leaves his father behind while the older man calls after his son. Running down the hall and the stairs, Hoshi bursts out of the door.

Following his son down the stairs, Rowen ends up in the entryway, but alone.

"What's going on, Ro?" asks Kento.

"Let me guess," says Sage, shaking his head. "He just found out."

"Found out what?" ask Kento, glancing toward the blonde warrior.

"About Kayra and Rowen," says Cye, who is still standing mostly in the living room.

"What are you all talking about?" demands Dais.

"When Kayra had to return to the Nether Realm, they decided to tell Hoshi that his mother had died," explains Cye.

"I take it, the boy just found out the truth?" asks Cale, with a raised brow.

"Yes," mumbles Rowen, still staring out the door that his son left through.

"What are you going to do about it?" asks Ryo. "You need to talk with him."

"No, he doesn't."

Turning as one, the Warlords and Ronins watch as Kayra walks down the stairs.

"Rowen shouldn't be the one to talk with Hoshi. I left him. I need to talk with him," she says.

"Do you think this is a good idea, Kay?" asks Rowen, staring up at his wife.

"Good or not, I have to do it."

With no more than a glance toward the man she loves, Kayra walks out the door and goes in search of her son.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Knowing that his friends would still be near the lake, Hoshi walks in the opposite direction and enters the woods. Walking for what seems like forever, Hoshi finds himself in a clearing and sits down with his back against a tree. Closing his eyes, he feels the tears stream down his face.

_Son…I need to talk with you and I hope you're old enough to understand…_

Words haunt him from so many years ago. Words from the night when his father told him his mother had died in a car accident.

"They lied to me…" he whispers to himself on a sob.

"We never meant to," says a calm female voice.

Jerking to his feet, Hoshi raises an arm to rub the tears from his face.

"I have nothing to say to you," he says, turning his back to the woman he now knows as his mother.

"Then just listen," she replies.

Closing her eyes, Kayra takes a deep breath and lets it out as a sigh. Opening her eyes, they take on a far away look to them, as if she isn't seeing now, but days long gone by.

"When your father and I first met, we were enemies. I was under Talpa's power and did his every bidding. Eventually I broke free and fought with your father and his friends against that mad demon.

"After things calmed down, your father and I spent more time together and…we fell in love. We got married, as normal couples do, and a couple years later, you were born. Things were perfect," she says, then takes a pause.

Focusing her eyes on the young man before her, a sad smile crosses her face.

"You and your father are the best things that ever happened to me."

"Why did you leave us then?" demands the boy.

"Not by choice. After Talpa's fall, I took over the Nether Realm as leader. I allowed the Warlords to be my hand when I wasn't there. But time went by and turmoil grew and my attention was needed more and more often.

"Eventually, it got to the point where I was rarely home. We would tell you that I was away on business trips," she continues.

"Your accident occurred on a business trip," Hoshi says.

Nodding her head, Kayra raises a hand to swipe a stray tear from her cheek.

"Your father and I talked about what was happening in the Nether Realm and how it would get to the point where I would have to remain there until matters settled down. But time went by and we soon realized that things weren't going to calm down."

"That's when you guys decided to fake your death and lie to me," he accuses.

"Please believe me when I say it was the hardest decision I have ever made. I love you and your father. I never wanted to leave," she says, taking a step toward the boy she bore.

"How can I believe anything you say now? My whole life has been a lie," he says.

"It hasn't all been a lie," she replies, shaking her head. "The love you knew as a child couldn't have been more real if I had tried."

Saying nothing, Hoshi turns his gaze away from the woman he knows to be his mother, but barely knows at all. A minute passes, then another. Soon a heavy silence fills the clearing where mother and son stand.

Deciding to break the silence, Hoshi returns his gaze to the woman before him.

"Where does this leave us?" he asks.

"I don't know," she replies, shaking her head. "The problems have not changed in the Nether Realm and I must return after matters have been solved here."

Nodding his head, Hoshi glances down at the grass near his feet.

"What do I call you?" he whisper, half not wanting her to hear him and half wanted to know the answer to his question.

"Call me what you feel comfortable with," she replies quietly, her head falling foward. "I know I don't deserve to be called 'mother'."

"Will you ever return?" asks the boy, raising his gaze to look at the warrior woman.

"I can't answer that," she replies, also raising her gaze to meet his. "I hope to."

"I can live on hope," replies Hoshi.

"You are like your father," she says with a sad smile. "He has lived on hope for the last 12 years."

Nodding his head, Hoshi turns to leave the clearing. Stopping, he looks back at the woman who has loved him.

"Are you going back to the house….Mom?" he asks.

"Yes," she says, tears falling from her eyes. "Lead on."


	7. Epilogue

Epilogue

In the Nether Realm, a furious demon curses the name of Kayra and her whole family.

"Damn that boy and his forgiving nature!" shouts Badamon.

Stamping and storming around, as much as a floating demon can, he fumes over how his newest plan has failed.

"Well, I am not done with them yet," sneers Badamon. "I've only attacked two of their children. I still have four more. By the time I am done, they will regret not making sure that I was gone for good."

………………………

**_AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hmmmm, now which Ronin child to pick on? So many children, so little time. I'm willing to take suggestions on which child should be next._**


End file.
